Sustainable local tourism: contribution to territorial development in Cuba

Abstract

The updating of the Cuban and social economic model is supported by the political will to give more autonomy, responsibility and authority to the municipal governments, aimed at the use of their endogenous and exogenous resources, according to local development. The tourist sector is one of the main engines of the economy with more expectations of growth in the medium and long term. The dynamics of this activity has provoked benefits and, at the same time, impacts in the spaces where the tourist facilities have been implanted. In the search for alternatives in this sector, with the purpose of stimulating local economies, this article aims to: design a model for the management of Sustainable Local Tourism, on a small scale, as a contribution to territorial development, which allows the development of tourism on that scale, in areas with a tourist vocation. Tourism services under this conception are managed by local enterprises, which start from premises based on respect for natural and cultural values, using tourism resources in a rational manner, preserving them and, at the same time, obtaining from them the necessary income that allows for the improvement of the quality of life of the local population.